By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu, Port Harcourt
The Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral (Rtd) Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, has said that the state was torn by divisions, instability, and broken trust before the intervention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who appointed him to preside over the state for six months.
Speaking during the Inter-Denominational Church Thanksgiving Service at the Ecumenical Centre in Port Harcourt, organized as part of official events marking the state’s transition back to democratic governance and the recent peaceful local government elections, Ibas stated that he has deliberately sowed seeds of love and peace in the state in the past six months.
He urged the people of Rivers State to collectively nurture the love and peace he said he has sowed in the state to flourish as his tenure ends on October 18.
Ibas also appealed to the people of the state to transcend bitterness, political rivalry, and self-interest to forge a united path toward peace and sustainable development.
He recounted the profound challenges the state faced, noting again that it was “torn by divisions, instability, and broken trust” before the intervention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said: “By God’s grace, and with the support of Mr. President and all of you, we have walked through those difficult days together, the survival and relative stability we enjoy today is a testimony of God’s faithfulness.
“Political actors must sheathe their swords, because no political victory or personal gain is worth the blood of any Rivers citizen.
“The progress and prosperity of Rivers State must be placed above personal or partisan interest,” and that “politics must never be an excuse to destroy the very state we are called to serve.
“The youth should not avail themselves to be used as instruments of violence but to instead channel their energies into building a peaceful and prosperous state.
“I urge the community leaders, elders, and religious figures to continue providing guidance, wisdom, and prayers for the continued stability of Rivers State,” he said.
Delivering the sermon at the thanksgiving, Chaplain of the Chapel of Everlasting Grace, Government House, Pastor Barasin Ogan, urged citizens to let go of the past and work synergistically to build a better Rivers State.